Should the town approve a plan to lease its eastern runway in Calverton for up to 30 years to an aerospace start-up? Or should it try to renegotiate with that start-up, which could blossom into a “cutting-edge, high-technology aerospace manufacturing” company? READ

District Attorney Thomas Spota at a press conference on Wednesday. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

District Attorney Thomas Spota revealed details of a “pretty sophisticated scheme” that included a Calverton man as the “chief reseller” on Long Island and involved shipping marijuana from farms in northern California to Suffolk County. (more…)

Twenty one years ago, the News-Review reported that there would “definitely be a 751-space, two-story parking structure” created in downtown Riverhead to address a burgeoning traffic problem.

While that traffic problem remains — and in fact, more residents than ever are living downtown, with more residential units in the works — the parking garage remains a dream.

But that didn’t stop a consulting firm from examining the idea at Town Hall recently after giving downtown traffic a grade of “F.”

That proposal, as well as others, were all part of a wider look into developing downtown Riverhead as it continues to grow — from a traffic perspective, a housing perspective and an overall marketing perspective. (more…)

Anthony Coates, a former political adviser to Supervisor Sean Walter — who is up for re-election this fall — has been noncommittal on whether or not he’ll run for public office since the two have stopped working together.

And while Mr. Coates is still hesitating to commit to running for a Town Board position again (he failed to receive a Republican nomination for Town Board in 2013), he did say he’ll be screening for the Democratic nomination for supervisor to “explore the possibility of running.” (more…)

Town board members review material that came from EPCAL at last week’s work session. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

A day after finding out that material dumped at Enterprise Park at Calverton without state approval tested positive for traces of several chemicals including DDT, town officials found out today that one more hazardous material was found in it: asbestos.

According to Supervisor Sean Walter, the town was informed by phone by Maximum Environmental Management on Tuesday about the positive results.

Highway Superintendent George Woodson took the blame on Thursday for allowing the material, about 200 cubic yards, to be dumped on site prematurely. Mostly soil and crushed concrete, the material — which was given to the town for free — was meant to be used as a base for a recreational path around Enterprise Park at Calverton.

It remains dumped near the eastern runway at the former Grumman site.

On Monday, the town received information that the material had been tested and those results showed that it exceeded the allowable residential use standards for lead, zinc, and three pesticides (dieldrin, DDD, and DDT), according to Maximum Environmental Management, which did the testing.

However the testing did not include some particular objects in the material. According to the results, “the focus at this point in time regarding laboratory analysis was the soils rather than the small items/objects.”

Some of it was placed on a table in front of the town board, and Councilman George Gabrielsen said, “This looks like an asbestos shingle.”

That piece was sent separately to be tested and the result came back positive, Mr. Walter said.

Asked why asbestos wouldn’t have been detected in the original test results, Mr. Walter said the asbestos wouldn’t likely be found unless it was in a chunck, as opposed to dispersed.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio — a political adversary of Mr. Walter’s who was called a liar by him at last week’s work session over a dispute about the material — said it seemed strange that the asbestos wasn’t detected in the first tests but was in a subsequent test.